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ADHD Nation: Treatment And Prevention Through Music

4/28/2011

12 Comments

 
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ADHD In America
You've heard about it in the news. You've read about it in the newspapers and it can be found anywhere on the Internet. It seems like there is a little nation of young people living within The United States Of America. As of August 2010, there have been 4.5 million children diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. You've heard the term ADD, but it actually doesn't exist. I just want to clarify that when we use the acronym ADD, we are actually talking about Attenion Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

So does your child have ADHD? Do you know someone that has a child with the disorder? I'm sure you do. We all seem to know someone. It feels like the numbers of people diagnosed with the disorder are growing and that doctors are increasingly willing to prescribe medicine for it. In fact, there is a big discussion going on in the medical world about how many of the diagnosed children actually have ADHD.

Case Study

One study by Todd Elder, economist at Michigan State University, argues that many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD simply because they are the youngest in their class. Using a sample of nearly 12,000 children, Elder examined the difference in ADHD diagnosis and medication rates between the youngest and oldest children in a grade. The data comes from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort, which is funded by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Elder's study says that the youngest kindergartners were 60% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than the oldest children in the same grade level. Similarly, when that group of classmates reached the fifth and eighth grades, the youngest were over twice as likely to be prescribed stimulants.

Overall, the study found that about 20% of the 4.5 million kids currently identified as having ADHD likely have been likely misdiagnosed by doctors. Wow! That's a lot.

If that's true, then that means teachers, parents, and doctors are jumping to diagnose simply because the child shows the common symptoms. So let's looks at the possible symptoms of ADHD:

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Common Symptoms Of ADHD
  • have a hard time paying attention
  • daydream a lot
  • not seem to listen
  • be easily distracted from schoolwork or play
  • forget things
  • be in constant motion or unable to stay seated
  • squirm or fidget
  • talk too much
  • not be able to play quietly
  • act and speak without thinking
  • have trouble taking turns
  • interrupt others
As you read the list, you may even start to think that maybe you have ADHD! You can see from the list that a normally healthy child could have any number of these symptoms. It doesn't necessarily mean they have the disorder. In fact, some of these symptoms aren't really symptoms at all in my opinion, but simply misbehavior. In fact, Elder said that part of the reason why the children had these “symptoms” was because they were the youngest children in kindergarten and were emotionally and intellectually less mature than their slightly older peers.

So there are two types of children: the diagnosed and the misdiagnosed. And both are part of the ADHD Nation. If this trend continues, we will have a population of people who cannot concentrate and achieve any goals or objectives. How will our nation compete against the rest of world when we become distracted by distractions? There must be a solution to first end the misdiagnoses and then to find a solution for preventing diagnoses. There's got to be several solutions to this epidemic.

I am not a medical doctor or therapist. My expertise is within the world of music education and I can tell you that learning a musical instrument can help BOTH groups of children in fighting against all the symptoms that were listed above. I will explain why. Surely, there are solutions outside of the musical realm, but that is for other experts to comment on.

Benefit #1: Concentration

Learning a musical instrument develops concentration. This is because there are activities involved in learning an instrument that require concentration over extended periods of time. It doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. But daily practice of a musical instrument will push the limits of your child's ability to concentrate. Since concentration is needed to excel in any academic skill or life skill for that matter, the benefits will not only be a child that can play a musical instrument, but one that can excel in many areas of life.

Concentration is certainly an ingredient of success. We are worried about our children with ADHD because we don't know if they will have a bright future. Will they excel in school? Will they go to college? Will they graduate? Will they be able to find a good job and keep it? These are certainly worries that go through a parent's mind when they learn their child has ADHD. Ultimately, they are worried if their child will reach success in life. Concentration is a crucial element in becoming successful in any aspect of life. Music teaches concentration.

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Benefit #2: Hands-On Learning

Also, learning a musical instrument is a “hands-on” type of learning. Children with ADHD or children with concentration problems will learn more effectively in this way. It's been scientifically proven that we learn better through hands-on interaction and engagement when compared to reading a book or listening to a teacher in the classroom.

Benefit #3: Relaxation

Another benefit that learning a musical instrument does for a hyperactive child or one with ADHD is relaxation. Music naturally relaxes us. There are certain types of music that can lower heart rate and blood pressure in a natural way. In fact, music therapy is being used more and more as a supplement to more traditional medical practices. Music styles that are taught in lessons such as classical and jazz have an enormous influence towards relaxation.

Benefit #4: Patience

And finally, patience is yet another benefit to learning a musical instrument. It is not easy to learn an instrument, and by overcoming small obstacles in the process of learning music will help your child later in life when more challenges arise.

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One Final Suggestion

Again, I'm not a doctor and therefore cannot give medicinal advice and I certainly am not qualified to diagnose a child. But, I would suggest that you strongly consider getting your child started in taking music lessons. If you're hesitant to give your child prescription drugs for a disorder he/she may not have, music could be a natural alternative. Who knows, you may one day be relaxing at the sound of your child playing the music of Mozart on the violin. Wouldn't that be ironic?

12 Comments
Teddi Kella link
7/2/2011 03:03:04 am

Excellent article!!!!
Just today I found your Squidoo lens about music and I left you a message asking about about the link between ADHD, Music, IQ, and left handedness then I found your twitter account and your website with this article.

I tweeted this and sent it to facebook. I am getting my son into learning the guitar for sure after reading this.

Thanks so much for posting this article!

Teddi
http://www.squidoo.com/teddi

Reply
Tony Margiotta link
7/3/2011 01:16:08 am

Thanks for tweeting for me Teddi. In regards to my profile photo, I'm actually right-handed and I am holding the guitar correctly as a right-handed player should. When you play right-handed on the guitar, you strum the strings with your right hand and place your left-hand fingers on the guitar neck.

Based on your other messages to me, I think you should strongly consider getting your son a guitar and to enroll him in private lessons to see what impact it would have on ADHD/ADD.

I have written an ebook "A Parent's Guide: How To Get Your Child Started In Music," where I give you my recommendations on instrument choices, where to get the best deals/service and how to choose the right teacher.

You can check it out at my bookstore: http://www.tonysmusicbooks.com/Parents-Guide-Deluxe-Version-Ebook-MP3-201101.htm

Since I did not write about instruments for Left-Handed students, I will gladly email you my recommendations for a left-handed guitar for a 9 year old.

Reply
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8/8/2012 09:44:12 pm

Your blog is quite interesting i found it very informatic thanx for posting

Reply
Tony Margiotta link
9/24/2012 12:55:52 am

Thank you! I always appreciate words of encouragement.

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9/23/2012 08:28:32 pm

This is perfect blog for anyone who is looking for topics like this. It has got it all, information, benefits and overview. A perfect piece of writing. Good job.

Reply
Tony Margiotta
9/24/2012 12:58:58 am

Thank you! It's a lot of work writing these articles and doing research but I'm passionate about the message of The Musiconomy. Music has such a relevance in our lives and I want to make sure that people are aware of music's enriching benefits.

Reply
yeast infection home remedies link
10/3/2012 01:35:38 am

Excellent guidelines. Really useful factors .Never had an idea about this, will look for more of such useful articles from your part. Good job...Keep it up.

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venus link
10/24/2012 07:55:44 pm

I am so grateful to find your particular post. I have bookmarked this website and I will keep visiting you for further such interesting posts.

Reply
Tony Margiotta, Founder of the Musiconomy link
10/25/2012 11:22:29 pm

Thanks Venus! ADHD is an issue that is continually growing in our school systems. We need to be proactive and apply our knowledge. Music is not the only answer, but it certainly is one. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll share The Musiconomy with your family friends.

Reply
Play Therapist link
9/29/2013 06:25:32 pm

Thank you for writing and talking about details of Treatment And Prevention Through Music. You are obviously very knowledgeable in this position and I have found this to be interesting and amazing learning. Good job.

Reply
Gary
3/16/2014 06:00:17 pm

The absolute worst situation for any child with adhd is for him or her to be in catholic school. I attended eight torturous years in catholic grammar school (back in the '70s and early 80's) I also had adhd. I was prescribed tranquilizers by our family MD, but those meds made me want to sleep and fell anxious at the same time. No medication really helped me as a child. I was a quiet kid in school. So much so I was ridiculed by the nuns and teachers for not "speaking up." And all those nuns and teachers could do is shout at other kids to shut up! I couldn't learn under such strict and tension laden moments that I faced everyday. I wanted to die. Seriously a 10 year old who thinks of suicide is pretty sad. I hated the nuns because they were abusive to me, calling me dumb and useless, and one nun said that the school is too good to have inferior students like me attending. She said that in front of the entire class. I had lay teachers who were vengeful as well employed at that school. Well, getting the hell out of catholic school was a moment of glory for me! But starting public high school had its plusses and minuses. The teachers at the public high school I attended were super. So nice and understanding. But there were so really bad kids. Kids that came from the wrong side of the tracks. I was bullied pretty badly and I became more withdrawn. The teachers tried to help, but I was defeated. By now I was in therapy and dealt with some pretty strange psychologists, psychiatrists and some very nice counselors. The drug I was on was Xanax for my anxiety. It had a positive effect on my anxiety but dulled my senses. I transfered to a continuation high school with a small campus and there were special ed teachers on site. It was a nice campus. I was encouraged by one of the special ed teachers to consider classical guitar. I never played classical guitar before, but my teacher said he thought I had the necessary attributes to learning. Well, I accepted and took lessons after school and it made me a little more focused. I didn't become a social butterfly, but I was able to play guitar with other students during lessons. Everyone was considerate of one another and if one of us picked a wrong note we'd just all kind of laugh it off. Today in midlife I do still suffer anxiety and depression every now and then, but it's 100% manageable. I'm not on any drugs either. Reflecting on how horrible those nuns were and lay teachers in catholic school I can't believe I lived trough my own war. But many heartfelt thank you's to the great teachers in the public school system. I could never believe in any god or follow some archaic twisted dogma of any religion. Free thought through and through.

Reply
Tony link
3/17/2014 08:22:39 am

Thank you Gary for sharing your experience. It was intense and touching at the same time. I hope that you stuck with the guitar. It seems like it gave you some peace. If you're not playing a musical instrument now, maybe you might want to consider going back to it.

That's the beauty of music. You can go back to it anytime. It's always waiting for you and your imagination.

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